The Visionaries
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NGOs, Subject Matter Experts consultants,
government officials, corporates, and
policymakers to discuss CSR and its role in
nation building. A relevant topic of discussion
was the role of the G20 India presidency
and its role in rural development. Featuring
nearly two thousand active participants,
including 1850+ NGOs and 75+ speakers,
the Symposiums created a platform to share
experiences, best practices, and insights,
on topics including poverty alleviation,
sustainable economic growth, health,
unemployment, and climate change. Panel
discussions, workshops and talks enabled
knowledge exchange, fostering dialogue and
collaborative bridges for innovation, financial
governance, sustainable development, and
positive social impact across India.
An integral part of the G20 Summit in 2023
was the C20 engagement group (Civil 20 India
2023) which brings the voice of civil society
organizations to the G20. It focuses on their
significant role in sustainable development,
gender equality, human rights and social,
economic and climate justice. HCLTech Grant
has long recognized the crucial role of these
bodies, and its long-term partnership with
NGOs has made transformative changes in the
rural landscape a distinct reality.
At a global level, COP 28 has recognized
the value of local, nature-based solutions
to environmental issues, which have
been scaled through Public Private
Partnerships (PPPs). Our 2021
Grantee Saahas and its Project
Paripurna has recycled
4,63,563 kg of waste and
diverted 27,369 tons of
waste from landfills and
incineration through
the concept of the circular economy and solid
waste management systems at the village
level and furthering the reach of government
programmes. e Manthan initiative of the
Government of India promotes innovation
and research in different sectors. In the
health space, our 2022 Grantee, Association
of People with Disability (APD) in another
strong, scalable model for community-based
rehabilitation of Persons with Spinal Cord
Injury (PwSCI), and has invented a vehicle
for them, converting a wheelchair into a
transport vehicle – NEO FLY, as a step towards
mainstreaming PwSCIs. And in education,
one of our earliest Grantees, Meljol (2017),
has created the hugely successful financial and
social education programme Aflatoun, scaled
to government schools, inspired by which 77
per cent girls and boys have started saving to
meet their immediate and future needs.
e CSR funds available in India are
exponentially increasing. HCLTech Grant
over the last nine years has not only infused
a substantial amount of funding into NGOs,
but has also formed a valuable repository of
thoroughly vetted organizations for other CSR
programmes to dip into, presenting projects and
areas that are diverse and deserving, beyond the
education sector which receives most aid.
We laud the remarkable reach of these
grassroots organizations, as they bridge and
connect local communities, government
schemes and policy programming. As they
accomplish their goals of large scale impact
through path-breaking initiatives driven by
inclusivity, socio-economic empowerment ,
government integration and community-based
institution building, HCLTech Grant supports
them unequivocally. For they are the Fiſth
Estate: the integral bridges of transformation.